Cobalt is a not-for-profit CIC (Community Interest Company) , our intention and aim is to operate as a self-sufficient social enterprise with our business model being to sell food, drink, club nights & tickets in order to support culture & education.
Our mission is to ensure that access to culture & all engagement/education remains free or affordable to as many people as possible whilst also ensuring that we are an ethical employer and that additionally that support low waged artists & musicians paying as fairly possible.
This equation simply isn’t easy and currently our costs are too high & our eco-system is not developed enough to make our work sustainable over the longer term. Our work relies on a very small, largely voluntary, overstretched team and our program runs at a deficit, our finances are constantly delicate.
We must seek to protect our work to date & in the future with a strategic approach to funding.
Our strategy to counter this is to
- Raise capital to complete the backyard at Cobalt which will increase impact & revenue.
- Establish & run Cobalt Central successfully hopefully generating excess profit to be reinvested into culture.
- Develop in-house ticketing, merchandise and a paying membership to help increase revenue.
- Consider establishing more money raising hospitality businesses if the capital start up support is available.
- Consider separating our program & educational activities into a separate entity and seeking funding for these components.
- To seek dedicated funding for all outreach & youth work or sadly we won’t be able to keep increasing our reach & impact
- Appealing directly to trusts, corporate responsibility funds and doners
- One day we hope to buy the building , if this was outright in some shape or form then the costs of our annual rent could cover our program deficit.
Our Funders to date
Cobalt does not and has never received core funding, but we have over the years received dedicated funding for specific project
Current Funding
We are very grateful to be a part of the New Talent Development Network and are currently on our final year of £15 k per annum towards supporting the presentation and development of brand-new music
Last 5 Years
Over the last 5 years we have received project funding from the Arts Council for outreach work, Youth Music has funded projects dedicated to marginalised genders working in electronic music & The North East Mayoral Authority for organisational development, including this website !
Our Funders to date
Cobalt does not and has never received core funding, but we have over the years received dedicated funding for specific project
Current Funding
We are very grateful to be a part of the New Talent Development Network and are currently on our final year of £15 k per annum towards supporting the presentation and development of brand-new music
Last 5 Years
Over the last 5 years we have received project funding from the Arts Council for outreach work, Youth Music has funded projects dedicated to marginalised genders working in electronic music & The North East Mayoral Authority for organisational development, including this website !
